(Credit: greenmatters.com / ISTOCK)
Stores and restaurants are expected to cease use of any foam coffee cups, takeout containers, and packing peanuts as soon as possible, but they will not face any consequences until June 30. Come July, any business caught using the prohibited items will face up to a $1,000 fine per offense, according to an article on Greenmatters.com.
The ban was first introduced by Mayor Bloomberg, who first introduced the idea at the end of his tenure as mayor. At the time, he explained, “Something that we know is environmentally destructive, that is costing taxpayers money, and that is easily replaceable, is something we can do without. And don’t worry: The doggie bag and the coffee cup will survive just fine.”
When the current mayor, Bill de Blasio, took office, he inherited the fight to ban foam, thought it was a long, drawn-out battle. He first put the ban into effect in July 2015 (Bloomberg’s first announcement came in February 2013), but the victory was short-lived; a coalition of restaurant owners and manufacturers sued the city, and were successful when the New York Supreme Court determined the ban was “arbitrary and capricious.”
When the city attempted to put the ban in place again in 2017, the court sided with the city, who argued there was no “economically feasible or environmentally effective” way to recycle the material.
NYC banning single-use Styrofoam products in 2019
